Beaten and broken
by TooMuchLoveforEdward
Summary: REPOSTED: OKAY! A story, slightly for the holidays? Well, there's snow, so yay! Really nothing to do with 'Twilight', this is the only place where I could post! I LOVE YOU GUYS, SO PLEASE MAKE ME CHEERFUL AND REVIEW!


(Okay guys, I have to repost this! Partly because of an awesome review, I did realize I rushed the barely middle and end of this story. Not enough detail in those areas. Foo-ee. More reviews, please!)

**Authors note: This has nothing to do with Twilight:cries: That's totally okay, though, because it's a rather good story! REVIEW! By the way, there are some similarities between it and this. So don't worry, here's a story! I would love reviews, please! Even if you're thinking 'Why in the hell is this on here?' just review, okay? Also, I've NEVER written in a guy's POV. It's...different. Here's a pronunciation on the main character's name: Lucent--- Loo-cere! Have fun and enjoy! OH! Something I just remembered: I'm not against emo peoples in any way! It's just his opinion.**

**MICHAEL, MERRY CHRISTMAS:tosses streamers:waves sparkler: **

Although my reasons for leaving my home were all well and good, I worried over my family in my absence. Not about my father -that would be quite a laugh- but younger twin brother and sister. As I sped down the icy path between the two cedars, I stopped once to quickly throw a glance behind me. What I saw made part of my heart swell with love, the other part spat at the house I spent seventeen years of my life in.

Without even waiting another second, I turned back around and ran as quickly as I could manage my legs forward. It was chilly out tonight; I hadn't thought about the temperature or outside weather conditions. Hell, I didn't even really think about anything. Trees flew by as I raced through the woods; hopefully I wouldn't die out here.

This last fight -if you could call it that, he did the hitting, I took it- was just too much. The last straw. My lip and nose were still bleeding. Actually I think I bit my tongue, is that why I had that metal taste in my mouth? After I had locked myself in my room, I crawled out of the basement window. Personally, I didn't think he would care that much. Only, maybe Chanel and Derek would be okay -I strongly hoped they would.

All the times I didn't duck, I got hit in the face. Yes, by my father before, but by tree limbs now. Oh great, more cuts and bruises. Didn't I already have enough? With all the broken bones and gashes I've had, simple easy pain should be nothing. Maybe it's a different type of pain you get used to after a while of being hit. I don't know, I'm not a freaking psychologist. That I'm defiantly not, but I am a piano player. Sighing, I thought of my sweetly faithful piano I was leaving behind. My eyes must have grown wide and I could feel my fingers aching to touch the ebony and ivory keys. While I took my attention off the glacial path, I tripped over something and slid a ways before somehow flipping over.

The ground seemed to reach up and smack me. Air that was in my lungs rushed out in a whoosh and I just kind of laid there. Bad idea, I'd probably die of hypothermia now. Both of my hands tried to grasp the ice -which was rather hard to accomplish- my nails grazed it as I pulled myself up. A tiny chuckle escaped my throat as I was successful. To this feat I gave another sign that I was okay -a small smile after the chuckle. This caused my chapped lips to crack all the more. As I steadied my pace a bit, for the first time I noticed the sky was black. Cloud cover: no stars to guide my way. It was the wrong time of the month for the moon. I wondered how come I could see so clearly.

Over the next few hours, I would hurry through places I didn't like. Sometimes I actually could see the flash of headlights from the street below; I was up on a huge cliff. The trees hid me, so even if someone brought in search lights I would still be safe. Good trees, I thanked them by nodding my head. It was kind of stupid, but I did it anyway.

Growing tired with every mile, I had to fight to keep my eyes open and my feet moving. That in itself was tiring. My yawns increased and the snowy banks started to look warm and comfortable. Was I going all wacky and delusional? Most likely, I tried to ignore it as much as possible. Which didn't always work so I had to switch my thoughts to my siblings. They looked nothing like me, both of them having darker blond hair. Their features were more of my fathers, smaller though. Thinking of my father filled me with rage, so I sort of turned off that part of my mind.

Twice more I fell and the last time I just stayed down. I was too tired, having been both physically and emotionally drained for all my life. The cold felt strangely soothing against my face, I realized I was burning up. Did I have a fever or was I just imagining it? "Screw it," I muttered against the snow and just closed my eyes. Darkness, not too unlike the shadows already around me, swept by me before I totally blacked out.

Softly playing notes caught my attention, I awoke with a start. It was hard to open my eyes, I had to rub sleep from them. When they sprang open, I took in where I was: I had no memory of this place. No matter how much like a dream it resembled, I knew I was truly awake. Either that or I was dead -which I couldn't really rule out at this point- I gazed down at the deep red chaise lounge and felt how wet it was. Wait a second -I was dripping wet. Why? Oh yeah, I feel asleep in the snow. Not even thinking about it, my hand smacked my forehead and moved my dark brown hair out of my eyes so I could see a bit better.

Super dark wood lined the floors and I found that the walls and couch were very close to being the same color. Dim lights set the mood in the room for me: slightly eerie actually. My breath hitched and then stopped all together when I saw what was in the middle of the room. I was so quick and nimble as I made my way to the glorious jet black grand piano, my heart was about to pound out of my chest. It was elegantly gorgeous, even my baby back home -could I still call that awful place my home?- was nothing compared to this beauty. Gently I ran my hand over the keys -they were already showing. Everything on this magnificent instrument was gleaming like new. Either that or it had just been professionally cleaned. Someone loved this baby a lot; too bad it couldn't be me.

It then occurred to me no one was playing this piano. Then why was there still a melody off somewhere? Something I hadn't taken into account before: there was a huge shady curtain acting as a wall on the far side of the room. Light seeped from under it, I tip-toed carefully over to edge. I lifted the hem and peeked through. What I saw took my breath away in the most wondrous manner.

Of course I'd seen pretty girls. I mean I was a guy for goodness sakes. She must have been the most graceful being I ever laid eyes on. In a room decorated much the same as its opposite, the only things different were the wall of mirrors, clear space in the center, and the nice stereo system. Well, add the girl to that list.

In a shade that reminded me of watermelon insides, she was clad in a flowy ballerina outfit. Her feet never seemed to touch the ground; how could anyone remain in perfect stance that long? She had just held her leg all the way up to her head, that was something I never wanted to try -I shuddered quickly at even trying it. Even though this princess's back was to me, I could see her reflection in the mirror. Hair the color of maple sugar and burnished copper mixed, it was short and hung about three inches from her shoulders. It was choppy cut, almost like she got furious one day and cut her own hair out of rage. The style looked stunning in her, just because it was so original.

Mostly, I wasn't interested in regular dance. Not many guys that I knew were -hopefully, maybe they kept secret lives- but her movements captivated me to no end. While this thin but soft body dipped low then pranced in front of me, her round face stayed perfectly serene and very peaceful. It seemed she didn't know I was there, watching her with joy, hoping she never fell because I didn't know if I could reach her in time. Then I learned why she didn't stop and accuse me of trespassing: her eyes were closed the whole time while she focused.

The music that played in the background hit me full force: I recognized the tune. I was from a beloved Disney movie my twelve year old sister still adored. Something about...my mind went blank for a second as she leapt elegantly off the floor. My attuned ears couldn't even hear her land back to the earth. As soon as my brain rebooted itself, I thought of the movie's name. _Anastasia_, I had seen it a few hundred times; mostly never paying attention to it. This song my sister could probably sing from memory. I caught myself before _I_ started to hum it aloud. My eyes were thirsty for more.

It was just my luck that the song chose to end now; she put her hands on her feet. Rising slowly back up, I heard a quiet sigh and saw her eyes open. They were beautiful and caught mine at once. Every color of eye color anyone could ever possibly have she held. Even from the distance I was, I could still tell the striking contrasts the hues made. From dark brown to green, all shades of blue were mixed with their opposites, flecks of hazel and gray decorated those orbs, too.

Somehow, I wasn't very good at staying hidden. Maybe it was the fact that I was practically drooling all over myself at this astonishment. In this case, I was extremely terrible at keeping my reverie. For when she gazed straight back into the mirror, there came a gasp and she fell to the floor. Oh god, did I kill her? Fright froze me dead on the spot but she got up with ease. I must have looked like a deer caught in headlights because she gave me a secretive smile.

"Hello there," her voice was timid as was her stance, then she decided to make her way slowly over to me.

It was hard for me to find my ability to speak, "I seriously didn't mean to scare you," I sounded raspy.

"I wasn't scared, just surprised," there was a laughing quality to her tone, "You could have died out there! I'm so glad I found you."

In all reality, she did seem truly grateful she had me with her. Or that's just the way it rubbed off. Was I being conceded? "Me too," I answered automatically. By now she had reached me. A smirk graced her soft features and caused me to think what I looked like to her.

The mirror behind her showed myself to me. I fought back a tremor as I raked over my own appearance. My dark brown hair was in a wet disarray and my goddamn bangs were all shitty. No, I wasn't emo -not in the least. Ugh, that's just too gross to think, the damn cutters. Beneath my horrible mess of hair, the lower half of my face was bloody. It was like I was a vampire and forgot to wipe off my mouth after feeding. At least Dad hadn't busted my lip ring.

Barely visible were my eyes, a mixture of dark blue and very light gray. Sometimes, it seemed like they swirled together. My clothes were all rumpled and wet, the red and black jacket was _still_ cold. This is what she was seeing? I must have looked like a compete savage to her!

"Why were you out there anyway?" she burst out, I wasn't prepared.

It caused me to shift uneasily on my feet, "Um..."

Seeing my uncomfortable posture, she changed the subject, "How about I help you get cleaned up?" her fingers came and swept my hair back, out of my face. Her multi-hued eyes widened.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows, hoping she wouldn't throw me back out in the cold.

"Your eyes are really pretty," the compliment was so unexpected and quite straight forward, "As are you. It's hard to believe I got so lucky."

When I muttered a thanks, she grabbed my hand. Just because she was tiny didn't mean she didn't have any power to her. I was being pulled along by a ballerina, what a funny sight it must have been. My hand enveloped hers, although mine were still cold, hers was warm from her recent workout.

"Don't mind me asking, but usually people know the other person's name. Mind telling me yours?"

"Lucent and you?"

"Wow, that's French. It suits you very well," she paused, as if thinking, "I'm Tansy."

The only footsteps audible were mine echoing over the wood floors. We were on the other side of the curtain by now, with the spectacular piano. It held my stare for a second, before it flew back to Tansy. What a graceful name, it repeated itself in my mind, along with her voice. Reminded me of a flower or something.

"Lucent," my name rolled off her tongue, "There's a bathroom with a shower down here. I can wash your clothes if you want? My brother's should be a close match, although you are quite small..." Tansy frowned. She didn't like skinny guys?

I gulped at thought of her not liking me, "Sure, that's fine."

"Alrighty!" she seemed more exuberant than before, reenergized I guess. A door behind the couch I woke up on led to a good sized bathroom. Very clean, there was a corner shower with a fresh rack of towels beside it. "There you go," Tansy motioned with her hand before growing quiet. Taking a few seconds before she left the room, I thought she was going to say something more to me. So we just kind of stared at each other -I was basking in the glory of her. When she was gone, I closed the door and hurried over the shower; some other warmness besides her hand.

Instead of being dirty and wet, I was clean and wet. Big difference in feel, trust me. With a towel wrapped around my middle, I stepped out of the shower and breathed in some more of the steamy air. The shower helped me feel better, even though I was pretty much naked in a strangers house, I still somehow managed to feel safe. There came a knock on the door while I wiped off the water that had collected on the mirror, "Lucent? I have some clean clothes here," she walked in on me, at least I was covered.

A faint blush painted my body as I felt her stare; it made me look down at my feet, "Like I said, they might be too big, maybe you can manage for a while?"

"Sure," I looked back up to see a pile of neatly folded clothes on the sink. Her eyes burned into mine with such an intensity, I felt like a mouse caught in the trap of a cobra. The ballerina outfit wasn't on her anymore, just causal wear. Her smile was sweet and very innocent, which assured me she wouldn't do anything bad, "Thanks," I told her and for the first time in a long time, I wanted to give someone other than my sister or brother a hug. Although I didn't; I needed to hold up this towel.

When she wandered out of my sight, closing the door behind her, I breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to get dressed. The clothes were pretty loose. Soon after I came out, I saw her standing by the piano. "I'm out," I announced and she spun elegantly around on her heel. She must not have been paying much attention before, Tansy seemed slightly frazzled now. Nothing could stop that smile from forming on her lips, though, and her body glided over to me.

"What are you thinking about?" her question startled me, she did that a lot.

I shrugged, "Don't really know, a lot of stuff really," I felt I should have said more, but couldn't think of the right words.

Again, her eyes took my breath away, "Oh," was Tansy's almost silent reply.

Well, I had to get some form of conversation rolling, or I'd feel more stupid. So, I said the first thing that wasn't too scary: "You're house, or at least the part that I've seen, is very nice," would she freak out at my comment? If I was a person who naturally bit my nails or lower lip, both would be bleeding right about now. Nothing like this happened, but she did sneak closer to me.

"Er..." I guessed she couldn't make up her mind on what to say, either. So instead of standing, she sat lightly down on the bench. The piano was so lovely, how I wished I could play it! Tansy must have saw my intent stare on the piano after a while, "Do you play?"

"Actually," I cleared my throat as she moved out of the way, "I do."

"Really? Will you play something for me?" her voice was pleading, as were her eyes.

How could I say no to such a beautiful girl and piano that seemed to match? "Sounds good," I murmured and sat myself on the bench.

It took me a second to figure out what I wanted to play. Something that she knew or something that I composed myself? I opted for something she knew, so not to make her think I thought too highly of myself. The beginning chords of 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' played and Tansy stood before strolling to the opposite end of the piano. Briefly, I changed some things to make it more personal, it wasn't like I was playing it for a school or something. Her eyes became bright as she recognized the song, softly she hummed along.

This piano was better than any I had ever played before! It was a miracle in instrumental form, I grinned to myself. The room created quite an atmosphere, making it seem...I couldn't possibly think of the correct word for how I felt. Above everything else, my mind focused on hitting all the correct keys, which I did successfully. At this I was slightly smug; when I finished the song, there was awe in her silence. I hadn't even bothered to look up for a while, I did and was hit with a lovely compliment, "Wow! No one I know can play that well!"

"Why, thank you," I mumbled and stood. Her tiny frame lightly danced over to me and came quite close to actually hugging me. She really was gorgeous. As Tansy gazed down at her feet -as though she was unsure about something- she quickly spied up at me but blushed before bowing her head again. "You're welcome," her voice was hard to catch, I had to lift her chin with my finger. Both of us were surprised at my movements, _I _sure wasn't expecting it.

Suddenly she stiffened and looked me dead in the eye. What was the reason? What did I do? Her gaze shifted to behind me and she moved away, "Nolan! I can explain! I swear, it's not what you-"

"Tansy Melian-Estel McKenna! What is it then?" a hard, icy voice came from behind me, I turned to see what I guessed was her brother.

With bleach blonde hair and the dark roots showing, he had a scholarly aura about him. But it wasn't like he was geeky or dorky in any way, shape, or form, he just rubbed off that way to me. Being taller than me, he was built a little firmer, and was bigger. No wonder the clothes were sizes off. The stone glare I received from him made me think of the chilly snow drifts, "Who are you and what in the hell are you doing here?" Nolan commanded my attention. Not that I was taken aback, actually, I had expected this sooner.

"I'm-"

Answering for me, Tansy reminded me of a mother begging for her son's life, "He's Lucent and I found him nearly dead, Nolan!" she pleaded and ran over to him, clutching his shirt.

The brother looked down at his sister minutely and gave me a returning glower. "Where?"

"Northridge," she breathed, sensing something I suppose.

Realizing how weird I must have looked -wearing his clothes and all- I moved slowly forward and reached out my hand to shake. Unlike what I thought he was going to, which was basically consisted of me landing face first into the snow yet again, Nolan gave me a firm handshake. "This is a bit awkward," I stated the obvious and shrugged. My God, his hand was so much stronger than mine! I bet he could have thrown me through the wall if he wanted to. Through his hair, I could hardly detect hazel eyes scrutinizing me harshly. It was a while before he finally reacted to my statement.

Like his sister, he had a musical laugh, only much deeper, "Very. I'm Nolan. Sorry I freaked out. It's only us that live here, so I have to look out for my little sis. But I trust her, her judgment in people has never been off. But still, I swear," Nolan shook his fist at me, "If you cause any trouble, I'll punch you into last Saturday. Fine with you?"

"That's good," I murmured and looked to her.

There was a very smooth way she whispered into her brother's ear, his eyes became perfectly round at whatever she was saying. Distress was written across his face as he gazed to me, his complexion had changed to a pallid one. Minutely, I wondered if he was going to faint -you never know. Nolan coughed deep in his throat after Tansy came to rest by me. For some reason, the siblings nodded to each other and the brother walked back up the way he came; which was up a staircase behind a door concealed to look like the wall. Very imaginative, I must say.

"Sorry if that was confusing," her tone was dead.

This scared me, were they going to turn me in for running away? Was he going to call the police now?

I gulped, "I wasn't paying attention," I tried to lie and hope I didn't get caught in it.

"I say we go upstairs and get comfortable, Nolan wants to have a chat with you," the beauty told me.

This send me into a bout of shudders, oh I was going to be beat into a bloody pulp! Again -at least this time it would be by someone I hardly knew. Missing nothing, Tansy gave me an odd look, "What's wrong?"

Instantly after she asked, realization dawned on her face. "You are in any form of trouble, don't fret," she blew it off and danced over to where her brother went up the stairs. How fun was this going to be? An interrogation with a very protective brother. Well, he did have every right to be. I mean, let's look at the freaking situation here! Your sister drags this dirty and half dead teenager out from the cold. You come in to find him wearing your clothes and getting close to your sister. Pretty freaky, eh? When I put the facts straight in my head as I came up the steps, I thought it a bit weird.

"Tansy?" Nolan's voice called out from a grand space I guessed to be the living room.

Instead of answering, she led me through into the room to have a what was sure to be a nice little chat...

Grinning lightly, Tansy let out a laugh, "Nolan, stop being so gay!" All of us had gotten to know each other a lot better in the past few hours. Somehow, Tansy and her brother were almost too inquisitive for their own good. _Somehow_, they knew I got beat. Just not how regularly, I planned to keep this fact a secret for as long as possible. Both of them had guessed, I revealed nothing until I was persuaded into doing so. The only person who could seem to get any answers out of me was Tansy, which wasn't hard to figure out.

Now, we were joking after they told me I could sleep in an extra bedroom. It was far away from Tansy's; of course I was informed that her door would be locked every night and Nolan would be roaming the halls. This I had no problem with, at least I wasn't spending the night in a snow drift like I had the previous night.

"Who with?" he cocked and eyebrow.

All of us were thrown into fits of laughter, I briefly thought out the possibility of being seriously being dead. Luck had never graced me this well. "The fire's getting low," she sighed, "I'm going to get some firewood."

Nolan now had both of his eyebrows raised, as if asking if she be taking anyone.

Like Lassie, she jerked her head in my direction. I think everyone in the room knew she meant me. Nolan slapped his forehead and nodded, "Fine. Just don't be making out in the snow or anything, okay?"

Was he kidding? Maybe or not...

"Ew! Nolan! Shut up, we won't! God!" Tansy threw her hands up in the air and then she peeked through her bangs at me, "Let's go, Lucent!"

As I passed, Nolan gave me a warning glance before Tansy skipped over to me. We made our way over to the door that led outside, she slipped on her coat. It was blue fur and stopped at her waist. Handing me a thick black leather jacket, she stepped into some snow boots and was outside quickly. There another set of boots, I assumed I would be using those, too. "Have a good time," Nolan called, I had the feeling he would be watching us from the window. If I were in his position, I'd actually be going with us.

Out the door and once again into the snow, farther up ahead Tansy sort of waited for me. Wind blew but it wasn't as cold as the night before; my face was frozen into a smile as I reached her. "You look happy," she noted and tilted her head gently. What answer was I supposed to give? So all I did was roll my eyes -which I doubt she could even see- and walked with her.

The corner of her yard there was a sheer drop off, it looked like there was nothing there to stop you if you fell. I was wrong, for as we got closer I saw there were stone steps leading downward. Snow covered them, she went first and I followed. Her feet had no trouble gripping the ice although mine seemed to be slipping every five seconds. "So," I tried to make conversation, "Why do we have to go all the way down here?"

"The firewood," Tansy gave me a swift look, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I tried to make my breath steady, I had just nearly fell!

Her chuckle was loud and clear as we finally came down to the bottom. The snow crunched underneath us; we moved to a full pile of wood, "Grab two or three logs. Or heck you're a guy, whatever you can carry."

Silently, I moved forward and grabbed about five thick logs. It surprised me I was able to bear all the weight of that wood, somehow I managed. "Want to take the round about way?" meekly, she looked up at me from underneath her lashes. The effect was mind shattering, it was like I couldn't breath. Nodding, I chased after her as she went a different route. This would be quite interesting, what was she planning? While spending some time getting to know her inside, I found that she was one of the smartest people I've ever known; just soft spoken sometimes. Beauty and smarts, it was amazing that they all ended up rolling into her.

"Okay, where are we going?" I huffed, these logs were getting heavy. Was I a wuss? I didn't give myself time to answer that question, for I was partly afraid of the retorting reply.

"Back to the house," Tansy fell back to where she was beside me, "Eventually."


End file.
